Quantum Storytelling

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Head on over and find out!

The shower crayons that I blogged about before have been working well, and the reasons why are better than I had anticipated.

1. Routine. The crayons mean that I work on my story either stating or solving a creative problem every time I take a shower. If you’re anything like me, when faced with a problem in your work, you tend to navel gaze and observe or think your way around the problem, or think in circles. Part of the routine I established is that I try to formally state one of my problems such as “This character needs to be in this place and time, but should they go over to this other place first, or after this scene?” Simply stating a problem like that on a single tile means that the next time I step into the shower, I’ve got that problem staring me in the face. The routine forces me to focus and make decisions, even if it’s only for a few minutes a day. You don’t need hours, days, or weeks to make a decision. Most decisions can take place within a few seconds. Even the most creative thorny problems. You may not find the best answer. The answer may be as simple as “I will do this for now, until I find something better.” That’s still a decision, and a decision is better than no decision, or indecision. Routine decision-making is a big help
2. A dedicated creative time & place. Showers used to be showers. Now they are a unique opportunity each and every time to push your story forward and solve problems. Shower time is also creative time. Under the relaxing spray of hot water, I can now clear my mind, and set aside a few minutes to do the things I never seem find to do or tackle during a normal day. Procrastination means you’re going to get very stinky. Creative problem solving becomes associated with hygeine. Which leads to…
3. Story hygeine & other associations. Being creative in the shower lends a lot of associations. Showers are a very zen personal time. Hot water, relaxation, clear your head. Isn’t that also the perfect time to tap latent creativity? When you’re relaxed, at ease, and in a decent state of mind? Even if I stayed up too late, and I’m stumbling into the shower all groggy, seeing the wall of writing wakes me up, sparks my brain a little. Often in that brain-start I have a thought. “Oh yes, I remember now.” I’ll think to myself as I climb in. A problem was stated last time, and a decision will be made this time. Even if I’m very tired, I can usually eek out some bit of creative work while I lather my hair with shampoo. But the main point is… positive creative associations. Most of us enjoy showers. Some of us have a bit of anxiety about our own creativity at times. What better place to break through that anxiety, block, or unease than to choose to be creative in a relaxing, rejuvenating, hygienating, personal space?
4. Fun. Remember when you were a little kid, and when your parents told you it was bath time, you’d haul every toy you could find to the bathtub in an attempt to make it fun? At first mention, you’d often protest, “I don’t want to take a bath right now!” But once you actually get in the tub and start playing, goofing around, when it comes time to pull the drainplug climb out, and dry off, it feels like party time is over. It always seemed like just when you were having fun, your parents would come in and interrupt the process to redirect you to some other silly adult concern. Well, as an adult your bathtub or shower time can be as short or as long as you like. But is it fun? Put a bit of fun back in your life. Sure, shower crayons seem like a childish thing but when it comes to creative work, sometimes we need a little childish fun to push us forward and remind us why we do it in the first place. Don’t be afraid to maintain a youthful spirit.

And with that, I just might hit up Crayola for a sales commission on their bathtub crayons.

Popular creative advice will often tell you to “follow your muse.” I need to punch popular advice in the gut once again, for its shortsightedness and misguidance.

I’ve been reading some Van Vogt lately. Author of Slan and The World of Null A, Vogt was in the writing camp of following your muse. Slan is a very fun novel, and Null A is turning out to be more interesting than I initially thought.

I’ve read that Vogt supposedly wrote Slan in a single night. “Amazing!” some might say. But I say…

I can tell.

And it appears The World of Null A was written very quickly as well. There is a quality to Vogt’s writing that is difficult to pinpoint or summarize. The writing feels… rushed. From a plotting standpoint this would normally be a good thing. Vogt’s stories are certainly fast paced. On one page two characters might be quietly sharing dinner, and on the next they are whisked off into space on a rocketship, held at gunpoint by pursuers.

Yet, while this is entertaining, it also has a discordant, nonsensical quality to it. Vogt’s stories read like a dream. Things don’t seem to happen for any logical reason, and so you never really know what’s next. But this is not suspense. It is not a carefully planned twist for the reader to enjoy. It is a meandering twist, rather than a logical one.

For that reason as I read, I am entertained. But I am failing to find meaning in the work. I desperately want to understand how and why. I want to know why the things happening are important. I even trick myself, lie to myself, that maybe the author will explain why haphazard, random, wandering incidents have meaning. But deep down, I know the author won’t bother.

The author is just following the muse.

Authors often hold more obligation to their muse than they do to the reader. I can expect no explanatory satisfaction, and if I want to enjoy the work I just need to bask in the ignorance of whimsical nonsense.

It’s hard to create meaning with a Shoot-First-Ask-Questions-Later approach to writing. Meaning comes from thought, and following the muse clashes somewhat with the act of pensive analysis.

The lesson here is this; Know your tradeoffs. Follow your muse blindly, but only if you don’t mind sacrificing some sense and meaning during the process.